Tailless airplane with movable power plant



Sept. 4, 1945- M. E. GLUHAREFF TAILLESS AIRPLANE WITH MOVABLE POWER PLANT Original Filed June 29, 1939 iNVENTOR MichaelEGluIzarqff ATTORNEY.

Patented Sept. 4, 1945 TAILLESS AIRPLANE WITH MOVABLE POWER PLANT Michael E. Gluharefl, Strati'ord, Conn, sssignor to United Aircraft Corporation,

East Hll'tiord, Oonn., a corporation of Delaware Origins 1 application June 29, 1939, Serial No.

Divided and this application 1 12, 1942, Serial No. 434,324

March comm. (cam-st).

This application is a division of United States application Serial No. 281,821, flied June 29, 1939,

by Michael E. Gluharefl for Tailless airplanes,

now Patent No. 2,293,644, issued August 18, 1942, and relates to improvements in tailless airplanes or sailplanes and particularly to improvements in the propulsive mechanism for such an airplane.

v An object of the invention resides in the provision of an airplane oi the character indicated having a propeller disposed at the rear thereof,

of means for elevating the propeller relative to the airplane without disrupting the driving connecticn between the propeller and the propeller driving engine or materially disturbing the relationship between the propeller thrust line and the center of gravity of the airplane.

A further object resides in the provision of means for changing the attitude of an airplane propelling means from a position adapted for .maneuvering the aircraft on the ground to a flight attitude or vice versa.

A somewhat more general object resides in the iiight stability. The chord length oi the'roct I portions oithe wings overlaps the greater portion oi the length of the iuselage or cabin and the trailing edges of the gs incline forwardly at a moderate angle. I

The elevation changing attitude, or angle of attack, 0! the airplane is controlled by a pair of elevators It and it in the form 01' movable flaps hinged to the trailing edges of the wing flaps adjacent-to the root portions or the respective wings. Lateral control, or the bank and turn attltuda'ot the airplane is effected by a pair provision of a tailless airplane especially equipped for sale and convenient landing and take-oi! and for eilicient flight.

Other objects and advantages will be more particularly pointed out hereinafter or will become apparent as the description proceeds.

in theaccompanyins (in-wing, in which like reference numerals are used to designate similar parts throughout, there is illustrated a suitable mechanical arrangement oi an airplane con-. 'structed according to the invention. The drawing, however, is tor the purpose or illustration only andis not to be taken as in any way limiting or restricting the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawing, Flg..llsatopplan viewoianairplsneconstructed according to the invention, and

Fig. I is a side elevational view of the airplane shown in Fig. l.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the numeral ll generally designates the fuselage, hull or cabin I of an airplane and the numerals l2 and ii designote the left hand and right hand supporting wings respectively. As shown the fuselage itis a comparatively short. completely streamlined,

body and the usual tall or empennage is omitted.

. 1n the form illustrated the wings I! and it proiect outwardly from a position near the vertical center oi the fuselage and are inclined somewhat upwardly trom their root to their tip ends to provide the usual dihedral angle essential to 0! ailerons II and 22 hinged to the rearward edges of the respective wings at the outer or tip portions of the wings. .Wing liit changing flaps "and" constitute the rearward portions of the ailerons II and 22 and the adjacent side of the i'uselage it, and the elevators "and It are carried by the rearward or trailing edges of the re spective movable ilaps I and 26, thus placing the elevators entirely to the rear of the main wing structures. This arrangement of the elevators and the forward inclination of the rear edges of the wings places the ailerons I0 and 22 a considerable distance ahead of the respective elevators lland it and brings the ailerons sumciently near the axis of the center of lift of the wings so that operation of the ailerons to change the banking attitude of the airplane does not inaterially aflect the pitching stability of the air-.

plane. and places the elevators in a position suiil-' ciently to therear of the axis of the center of lift so that the control oi the angle of attack its inner end to the side of the fuselage II by a' substantially vertical pivot 44 and the wing portion" isconnectedtotheiuselagebyasimilar pivot ii. at their rearward inner corners the wing portions II and I! are connected to the respective ends of aligned laterally movable elements which may be carried upon the outer ends. of a hydraulic ram device or screw Jack as indi-' caied at It.

The air'plane shown by way oi example in the accompanying drawing is of a typecommonly known as the pusher Wi that is, the propeller is located to the rear of the win s. In order to have the thrust line or the propeller pass through or near to the center of gravity and center of resistance oi the airplane to avoid unbalanced propulsive forces, it is necessary that the lower portion of the propeller disc extend below the fuselage. This would mean that, if maintained in its normal flight position, there would be danger of the propeller's striking the ground during the landing and take-oil of the airplane. In order to have the propeller in the proper position for flight and at the same time avoid the danger of the propellers striking the ground, the powerplant is pivotally mounted so that the propeller extends rearwardly through a supporting tube 82 from the driving end of the engine 84. Pivotal mounts 86 and 88 are provided on a line passing through or near to the center of gravity of the powerplant for the tilting movement explained above in connection witlnFig. 2. The distance of the propeller from the engine is such that an upward inclination not in excess of thirty degrees will bring the lower edge of the propeller disc above the bottom of the fuselage, or at least to a position in which the propeller safely clears the ground. Suitable means are provided for tilting the powerplant about the axis of the pivotal supports 88 and 88, such means taking the form, in the case illustrated, of a pair of upstanding arcuate guides 80 and 92 rigidly secured at their lower ends to the fuselage i8 and disposed one upon each side of the tube 82, and a cable 84 which extends over pulleys at each end of the guide member and is connected to one of the two guide pins 96 and 98 which extend from the tube 82 into elongated curved slots. as

indicated at Hill, in the guide members. The cable 94 may be suitably guided to the cockpit of the airplane and there connected with a manually controllable actuating device, as indicated at I02, by means of which the cable may be operated to tilt the powerplant in the manner indicated above. If desired, a pair of cables may be used disposed one at each side of the tube 82 and associated respectively with the parallel guide members 80 and 92.

While a particular structural arrangement oi an airplane has been illustrated in the accompanying drawing and hereinabove described in order to disclose the invention, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the particular arrangement so illustrated and described, but that such changes in the size, shape and arrangement of the various components thereof may be resorted to as come within the scope of the sub-joined claims.

Having now described the invention so that others skilled in the art may clearly understand the same, what it is desired to secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. In combination, a tailless airplane having a rear mounted propeller and propeller driving means including an engine, a pivotal support tor the engine-propeller combination having an axis substantially parallel to the spsnwise axis 01' said airplane and passing through a point in said airplane substantially coincident with the center of gravity of said airplane and intersecting the axis of rotation of said P peller at the center oi gravity of said engine-propeller combination, so that the thrust line of said propeller passes substantially through the location or the center of gravity of the airplane and through the center of gravity of said engine-propeller combination, and manuually controllable means between said engine-propeller combination and said airplane for changing the vertical location oi said propeller with respect to said airplane by tilting said engine-propeller combination about said pivotal support without disrupting the driving connection between said engine and said propeller or moving said thrust line away from the center of gravity or the airplane.

2. In combination, a tailless aircraft havins a rear mounted propeller and a propeller drivins engine so arranged that the center of gravity of said combined engine and propeller combination is substantially coincident with the location of the center of gravity of the aircrait, means supporting said propeller on said engine, a pivotal support connected to said engine and said aircraft having its axis passing through the center of gravity of said engine-propeller aircraft combination, and means for tilting said engine-propeller combination about said pivotal support to change the vertical location of said propeller with respect to said aircraft without disrupting the driving connection between said engine and said propeller or disturbing the balance of the aircraft.

MICHAEL E. GLUHAREFI". 

